Many people complain about corporations, but there are also those whose criticism goes further and who hold corporations morally to blame for many of the problems in Western society.
Topic
Whether corporations have moral responsibilities, and whether a CEO's only obligation is to maximize profits for owners.
Framework
Present Debate. The author presents the economists' position (CEOs should maximize profit; this serves the public good) and then argues against it, defending a moral-responsibility view.
Main Point
The economists are wrong: pursuing maximum profit does not always benefit the public, and a CEO's legal duty to owners does not override their moral responsibility to act for the public good.
P1: Setting up the debate
Some critics blame corporations morally for societal problems, including the basic practice of profit-maximizing without regard to the public good. Economists respond that this misapplies ethical principles to economic relationships.
P2: How responsibility actually works
Corporations aren't persons — their morality is the aggregated morality of the people who act on the corporation's behalf. In larger corporations, the CEO has a fiduciary obligation to the syndicate of owners.
P3: The economists' position
Economists say a CEO's sole responsibility is to the owners (whose primary interest is profit). Even if a CEO isn't obligated to maximize profits, the economists claim profit-maximizing is best for the public anyway.